2020 Atlantic hurricane season (Sassmaster15)
The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season was second all-time to 2005, with up to 25 named storms forming. An additional thirteen attained hurricane status, while a record-breaking eight went on to become major hurricanes. Throughout the course of the season, up to sixteen storms directly affected land. The dates that conventionally delimit tropical cyclone formation in the North Atlantic Ocean are from June 1st to November 30th, however, tropical activity is not confined to the aforementioned time period. As demonstrated by the rare formation of Hurricane Gamma in early December, tropical cyclone formation is possible any time of the year. The season began with Tropical Storm Arthur on June 8, subsequently ending with the above Hurricane Gamma on December 12. The strongest storm of the season was Hurricane Isaias, a powerful Category 5 hurricane that was the first of its intensity in the Atlantic basin since 2016's Hurricane Matthew. Other notable storms include Dolly, Fay, Hanna, Kyle, Omar, Rene, and Sally. With up to 773 deaths attributed to it in Haiti, Hurricane Dolly was the deadliest storm of the season and the most crucifying to strike the nation since Matthew. Hurricane Fay, a strong Category 4 hurricane, was the first major hurricane to landfall in the U.S. state of Florida since Wilma of 2005, and generally the worst hurricane to strike the United States since Hurricane Emily of 2017. Additionally, Hurricane Hanna made landfall in Hispaniola twice, both as a major hurricane. Severely compounding damage from Hurricane Dolly, Hanna crippled the country's economy and resulted in scarcity of food, electricity, and water throughout both Haiti and the Dominican Republic. With $10.2 billion in damage, Hanna was also the costliest Atlantic hurricane since Emily. Tropical Storm Kyle ravaged the Leeward Islands, dropping torrential rainfall across the entire archipelago. Flash flooding from the storm killed up to 50 people throughout Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Knitts, Saint Nevis, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico, surpassing the destruction wrought by Hurricane Luis in 1995. Hurricane Omar followed on the heels of the antecedent storm, forming in the central Caribbean Sea and moving to the northeast. Omar made landfall on Puerto Rico as a Category 4 hurricane, the strongest hurricane to strike the island nation since Humberto just the previous year. In October, Hurricane Rene struck western Florida as a powerful hurricane, while later that month Hurricane Sally made landfall in Nova Scotia as a minimal hurricane and caused extensive damage. The 2020 season also broke records due to its activity. With thirteen storms attaining at least Category 1 intensity, this is the second-largest seasonal total within an Atlantic hurricane season, behind 2005. In addition, with eight of these hurricanes intensifying to major hurricane status (Category 3 or higher), the previous record of seven held by 2005 and 1961 was shattered. Intense activity also occurred late in the season, as Hurricane Gamma was the first hurricane in the month of December since Hurricane Tobias. Due to predictions of a La Niña long before the season even commenced, activity was expected to be well above-average. Overall, most forecasts were fairly accurate. This season is also the second on record to exhaust the main list of names, with three letters of the Greek alphabet requiring use, respectively. Seasonal Forecasts Overview ImageSize = width:700 height:275 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:20 left:20 Legend = columns:3 left:30 top:58 columnwidth:190 AlignBars = early DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/06/2020 till:01/01/2021 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = grid:black unit:month increment:1 start:01/06/2020 Colors = id:canvas value:gray(0.88) id:GP value:red id:TD value:rgb(0.38,0.73,1) legend:Tropical_Depression_=_<39_mph id:TS value:rgb(0,0.98,0.96) legend:Tropical_Storm_=_39-73_mph id:C1 value:rgb(1,1,0.80) legend:Category_1_=_74-95_mph id:C2 value:rgb(1,0.91,0.46) legend:Category_2_=_96-110_mph id:C3 value:rgb(1,0.76,0.25) legend:Category_3_=_111-129_mph id:C4 value:rgb(1,0.56,0.13) legend:Category_4_=_130-156_mph id:C5 value:rgb(1,0.38,0.38) legend:Category_5_≥_157_mph Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = barset:Hurricane bar:Month PlotData= barset:Hurricane width:11 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till from:08/06/2020 till:11/06/2020 color:TS text:Arthur (TS) from:05/07/2020 till:13/07/2020 color:TS text:Bertha (TS) from:19/07/2020 till:23/07/2020 color:TS text:Cristobal (TS) from:10/08/2020 till:15/08/2020 color:C1 text:Dolly (C1) from:11/08/2020 till:13/08/2020 color:TS text:Edouard (TS) from:16/08/2020 till:28/08/2020 color:C4 text:Fay (C4) from:18/08/2020 till:24/08/2020 color:TS text:Gonzalo (TS) from:23/08/2020 till:04/09/2020 color:C4 text:Hanna (C4) from:28/08/2020 till:09/09/2020 color:C5 text:Isaias (C5) from:06/09/2020 till:08/09/2020 color:C1 text:Josephine (C1) from:09/09/2020 till:13/09/2020 color:TS text:Kyle (TS) from:13/09/2020 till:21/09/2020 color:C3 text:Laura (C3) barset:break from:20/09/2020 till:21/09/2020 color:TS text:Marco (TS) from:26/09/2020 till:01/10/2020 color:C1 text:Nana (C1) from:02/10/2020 till:11/10/2020 color:C4 text:Omar (C4) from:08/10/2020 till:13/10/2020 color:TS text:Paulette (TS) from:14/10/2020 till:19/10/2020 color:C3 text:Rene (C3) from:24/10/2020 till:30/10/2020 color:C2 text:Sally (C2) from:26/10/2020 till:03/11/2020 color:C3 text:Vicky (C3) from:04/11/2020 till:07/11/2020 color:TS text:Wilfred (TS) from:11/11/2020 till:16/11/2020 color:C3 text:Alpha (C3) from:29/11/2020 till:02/12/2020 color:TS text:Beta (TS) from:07/12/2020 till:12/12/2020 color:C1 text:Gamma (C1) bar:Month width:5 align:center fontsize:S shift:(0,-20) anchor:middle color:canvas from:01/06/2020 till:01/07/2020 text:June from:01/07/2020 till:01/08/2020 text:July from:01/08/2020 till:01/09/2020 text:August from:01/09/2020 till:01/10/2020 text:September from:01/10/2020 till:01/11/2020 text:October from:01/11/2020 till:01/12/2020 text:November from:01/12/2020 till:01/01/2021 text:December TextData = pos:(400,30) text:"(From the" pos:(447,30) text:"Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale)" June & July In early June, a tropical wave situated in the Gulf of Mexico consolidated to Tropical Storm Arthur. The storm advanced towards the United States, eventually making landfall near Corpus Christi, Texas, causing minimal damage. Tropical cyclogenesis ground to halt until early July, when Tropical Storm Bertha formed in the Main Development Region of the central Atlantic. Despite repeated forecasts of hurricane status, Bertha failed to intensify beyond 70 miles per hour as it turned northeast and passed 200 miles east of Bermuda, eventually dissipating uneventfully to the south of Newfoundland. Days later, another tropical wave in the MDR consolidated to Tropical Storm Cristobal. Plagued by inhibiting wind shear throughout its life, Cristobal eventually passed over the Leeward Islands as a weak tropical cyclone, dissipating soon after. August & September In mid-August, Hurricane Dolly formed from a disturbance just to the north of Venezuela, rapidly intensifying to minimal hurricane status as it bore down on Haiti. The storm was absolutely devastating for the nation, killing up to 700 people in Haiti alone. Disrupted by the mountainous terrain, Dolly dissipated only hours after landfall. Tropical Storm Edouard was active simultaneously, forming in the Bay of Campeche and making landfall in Mexico as a weak tropical storm. Subsequently came Hurricane Fay, an exceptionally powerful Cape Verde major hurricane. Fay defied forecasts of a westerly track into the Caribbean and intensified to Category 4 status over the Bahamas. Fay then made landfall in southern Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, eventually emerging over the Gulf of Mexico. Fay then struck southern Louisiana as a major hurricane, causing extensive damage. The hurricane was regarded as the most overwhelming for the United States since 2017's Hurricane Emily, with up to $8.9 billion in damage. Only a few days following the aforementioned storm's formation was Tropical Storm Gonzalo, a strong tropical storm that drifted south of Bermuda for several days, eventually passing just west of the island. Hurricane Hanna followed only shortly after, drifting southwest and rapidly intensifying to Category 3 status as it made landfall in Haiti. Unperturbed by the terrain, Hanna intensified to Category 4 status as it entered the Caribbean Sea and ultimately moved northwest, making a second landfall in the Dominican Republic at Category 4 status, establishing it as the first storm on record to make two separate landfalls on Hispaniola as a major hurricane. The final storm of the month, Hurricane Isaias, developed in the central Atlantic and struck the Windward Islands as a tropical storm. Isaias intensified over the open Caribbean, attaining peak intensity as a Category 5 hurricane southwest of Jamaica. However, the cyclone was relentlessly assaulted by wind shear in the latter portion of its life, weakening to a minimal Category 2 hurricane prior to making landfall in northern Honduras. Several days into September, a tropical low in the Bay of Campeche rapidly intensified to Hurricane Josephine. The minimal hurricane dropped to tropical storm status by the time it made landfall in Veracruz, causing moderate damage. Tropical Storm Kyle, a weak yet extremely destructive tropical cyclone, dropped torrential rainfall across the Leeward Islands, with Montserrat suffering the most extensive damage. The next storm, Hurricane Laura, formed west of Cape Verde and drifted out to sea, never affecting land. Subsequent to Laura was Tropical Storm Marco, a rapidly developing tropical cyclone that suddenly formed in south of Texas and explosively intensified prior to landfall. Inland, possibly due to the Brown Ocean Effect, the remnants of Marco persisted and caused extensive damage across Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Days later, a long-tracked tropical invest consolidated north of the Yucatán Peninsula and moved northeast across the Gulf of Mexico. Better known as Hurricane Nana, the cyclone intensified at a torrid pace as it bore down on Florida, striking the Big Bend area at peak potency. October & November Hurricane Omar formed out of a broad low-pressure area in the central Caribbean Sea, taking an abnormal track to the northeast. As Omar approached Puerto Rico, it peaked as a Category 4 hurricane and maintained intensity, becoming the first hurricane to landfall in the nation since Irene, as well as the strongest to strike the island nation since Hugo. Tropical Storm Paulette followed shortly after, compounding damage in the Leeward Islands only days subsequent to Omar's departure. The cyclone was later torn up by the mountainous terrain of Hispaniola shortly thereafter. Paulette's successor, Hurricane Rene, formed in the southeast Caribbean and made landfall in Cuba as a minimal hurricane. The hurricane, upon departing the aforesaid nation, turned northeast and rapidly intensified to major hurricane status as it advanced towards Florida, making landfall near the Ft. Myers-Cape Coral area. Hurricane Sally developed south of Bermuda, passing near the island as it intensified. Sally strengthened to Category 2 status as it approached Nova Scotia, inducing widespread panic that the storm would be even more devastating than Hurricane Juan. Unlike Juan, Sally weakened some prior to landfall and struck as a strong Category 1 hurricane, with disastrous consequences. Within days, Hurricane Vicky formed in the central Atlantic. The cyclone remained at sea for the entirety of its life, though in combination with Hurricane Sally, powerful rip currents relentlessly assaulted the East Coast of the United States. Vicky later dissipated west of the Azores. The season's hyperactivity continued into November, with the formation of Tropical Storm Wilfred 500 miles east of the Lesser Antilles. Meandering over open water, Wilfred never threatened land and later dissipated northeast of the Leeward Islands. Post-Season Storms Tropical Storm Arthur Tropical Storm Bertha Tropical Storm Cristobal Hurricane Dolly Tropical Storm Edouard Hurricane Fay Tropical Storm Gonzalo Hurricane Hanna Hurricane Isaias Hurricane Josephine Tropical Storm Kyle Hurricane Laura Tropical Storm Marco Hurricane Nana Hurricane Omar Tropical Storm Paulette Hurricane Rene Hurricane Sally Hurricane Vicky Tropical Storm Wilfred Hurricane Alpha Tropical Storm Beta Hurricane Gamma Storm Names Retirement Season Effects Category:Hyper-active seasons Category:Cyclones Category:Subtropical Cyclones Category:Future Tropical Cyclone Season Category:Future Seasons Category:Sassmaster15 Category:Sassmaster15's Seasons Category:Sassmaster15's Pages Category:Tropical Cyclones Category:Atlantic hurricane seasons Category:Atlantic hurricanes